Process Payments with Offline Mode

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With Offline Mode, you can accept swiped card payments when your Internet service is temporarily unavailable. Offline payments are processed automatically when your device regains connectivity, and will expire if not processed within 72 hours.

You’ll also want to be sure to obtain a signature for every swiped transaction and verify the signature on the screen matches the signature on the back of the payment card. If the card is not signed, ask your customer for a government-issued ID and to sign the card. Looking at their ID, match the signature to the signature on the payment card. While you can’t require your customer to provide an ID, and requesting an ID doesn’t change your liability for chargebacks, unsigned cards are invalid and should not be accepted. Remember, if a payment card is declined, Square is unable to provide buyer contact information.

Note: Chip card transactions and contactless (NFC) payments can’t be processed in Offline Mode when using the Contactless + Chip Reader. You’ll need an Internet connection to process these types of payments through Square. If you’re using the Square chip card reader, you can still accept magstripe payment cards through the magstripe slot in the reader while in Offline Mode.

If you have pending offline payments, do not delete the Square app. Pending offline payments will be permanently lost and the funds won’t be captured if the app is deleted. Make sure you process these payments by re-connecting your device to the Internet.

Enable Offline Mode

From the Square app, tap: or the down arrow at the top of the Square Register:

Tap Settings > Offline Mode.

Toggle Allow Offline Mode to on.

Review the information and then tap Allow Offline Mode.

To set a limit for card transactions taken offline, enter an amount next to Per Transaction Limit. This limit automatically defaults to $100 when Offline Mode is enabled and the maximum per transaction limit is $50,000.

When Offline Mode is enabled, you’ll see a red banner in-app if your Internet connectivity is disrupted, indicating the app has automatically entered Offline Mode.

Offline payments will appear as pending from your in-app payment history while your device is offline. When you’ve regained Internet connectivity, payments will show as completed and will be visible from your online Square Dashboard. Customers’ digital receipts and your payment notification emails will also be sent when the app is back online. Remember – you’ll have 72 hours to upload your offline payments.

Note: You’re unable to cancel or refund pending offline payments. To issue a refund, first complete your pending payments. To do so, re-connect your mobile device to the Internet to automatically upload your payments. Once complete, you can issue a refund.